Luffy's Decision: Time Travel With a Twist!
by triwizard17
Summary: Luffy reached the One Piece, but it came at the price of his nakama. The spirit of Ace then makes him an offer, and Luffy decides to go back in time, but not everything is the same. After Madara destroys the Elemental Nations, Naruto and his nakama are all sent to various locations in the Blue, on the condition that they join the Straw-hats. T for violence.
1. Another Chance

Chapter 1: Another Chance

Luffy smiled bitterly at the sight before him. He had managed to reach the One Piece, and it was everything he had imagined it would be. The entire cavern was filled with gold and other valuable things. There was a red cloak in the center, the same one that Gol D. Rogers wore during his lifetime.

"Nami, look at all this treasure..." he grinned. His grin faded, and he clenched his fists. "If only you were here to see it all... you would have gone crazy. Everything in here must be worth at least a trillion beris!"

Luffy noticed a steel door on the other side of the cavern. He found it to be unlocked, and his eyes widened in shock at the sight before him. It was the biggest poneglyph he had ever seen, the entire cube was made out of gold. He couldn't decipher them, but he had a good idea of what it was.

"Robin, we've found it! The Rio Poneglyph, the one that contains the True History of this world. You would have loved to see it..."

"Hey Luffy," a familiar voice greeted him.

Luffy turned around, eyes widened in shock. "Ace...?" he breathed out, hardly daring to believe his eyes. "How...? I thought...you..."

Ace sighed. "Yeah, I'm dead. You're talking to my spirit. I don't have long, though. You must hate me, for dying on you like that. I made a promise to you, and I broke it. I died, and left you alone,"

"No... it wasn't your fault. I was too weak to take on Akainu. If I had been stronger..." Luffy looked down.

Ace rolled his eyes. "Luffy, he was an Admiral. The only one there who had a chance at the time was Whitebeard, but he was already weakened from his previous battles. You have gotten a lot stronger since then, strong enough to take on Akainu and maybe come out on top,"

"You think so?" Luffy grinned.

Ace nodded. "That's all in the past though. Luffy, do you know what the One Piece truly is?"

Luffy blinked, confused. "You mean it wasn't all of that stuff in the front room?"

Ace laughed. "That's all of Gol D. Roger's treasure, yes, but the One Piece is a powerful artifact that allows the user to go back in time. It can also act as a gateway between dimensions,"

"So I could go back in time," Luffy said slowly. "I could see my nakama again. Zoro, Nami, Usopp... I could see them all again!"

"My time here is up. Once I disappear, you'll see a door marked with a gigantic hourglass. When you walk through it, you'll end up in the body of your younger self, just after you ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi, "

"Okay. This time around, things will be different! I'LL GET TO EAT SANJI'S COOKING AGAIN! YES! MEAATTTT!" Luffy grinned.

Ace sweatdropped. "You and your meat..." he muttered. "There's something else. I mentioned that the One Piece is also a gateway between dimensions. Kami is going to be sending you some help along the way, so don't be surprised if you meet people that weren't there the first time around. My time here is up, so I bid you farewell and wish you good luck!"

* * *

Naruto groaned. "Dammit, what happened?" he groused. "I was fighting Madara-teme, alongside Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme. I remember Madara-teme shouting something about how he had changed his mind, and everything just blew up..."

"I'm afraid the Elemental Nations are no more," a gentle voice said behind him.

Naruto spun around. "Don't say things like that teme!" he growled. "Who are you anyways?"

The man chuckled. "This is one of the people who's going to be assisting my brother, huh? I must say his attitude is a lot like Luffy's..."

"Don't ignore me! I'm not helping anyone until I can figure out how to get out of here!" Naruto snarled.

"This is the afterlife. Before I forget, my name is Portgas D. Ace, and I'm here to make you a deal,"

"What sort of deal?" Naruto questioned.

"Do you want to see your friends again?" Ace asked.

"Of course I do! What kind of question is that?" Naruto rolled his eyes.

"They have all been reborn into a different world, one which Kami has offered you the chance to be reborn into as well. The only condition is that you join the Strawhat Pirates, of which my brother is the captain," Ace explained.

"How do I know you're not lying?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"You don't," Ace said simply.

Naruto took a deep breath. "I'll take the chance that it's not a lie. You better be right about seeing all of my nakama again,"

"Since you've accepted, I suppose I should tell you one other thing. You'll have to train to regain your powers. You'll still be able to use that chakra stuff or whatever it is you shinobi use, but you'll have to retrain your body. Any other unique abilities which you might have had may also appear in your new life as well,"

"Seems I get to come along for the ride too then," Kurama grinned, materializing behind Naruto.

Ace gaped at the gigantic fox. "What the hell...?" he muttered. "Why didn't Kami tell me about you?" He asked angrily.

"I thought it'd be fun to see your reaction!" A voice laughed.

Ace's right eye twitched. "Whatever," he muttered. "Anyways, once you walk in this door behind me, you'll be born into a different world, as Monkey D. Naruto. One other thing, there is something special about those who carry the name of D. I believe Kami said you knew it as the 'Will of Fire,'. I hope you live up to it. Good luck!" He grinned

* * *

The first thing that Luffy noticed when he came too was the horrible taste in his mouth. The second thing he noticed was that he was upside down, being shaken as though someone was trying to dump something out of him. The third thing he noticed was the stranger staring at him standing at the other side of the room.

"Oi Shanks, quit that already!" Luffy grumbled.

"You idiot! Do you realize what you just ate?" Shanks growled, putting Luffy down.

Luffy shrugged. "A nasty tasting weird fruit thing?" he replied innocently.

"THAT WAS THE GOMU GOMU NO MI! IT TURNS YOUR BODY INTO RUBBER AND TAKES AWAY YOUR ABILITY TO SWIM!" Shanks roared.

Luffy blinked. _'He seems angrier than I remember him being last time,'_ he thought. "So I'm a rubber man," he stated, his eyes sparkling. "THAT'S SO COOL!"

Shanks sighed. "What am I going to do with you?" he muttered.

The stranger got up and walked towards Luffy, grinning from ear to ear.

"What do you want?" Luffy grumbled.

"Who are you?" Shanks asked him.

"Monkey D. Naruto, at your service!" The boy stated.

Luffy blinked. 'He has the same surname as me. Are we related?'

"You related to Luffy here by chance?" Yassop asked.

Naruto grinned. "According to Garp-jiji, We're brothers!" he exclaimed.

Luffy's jaw dropped.

"Garp-san said that?" Makino asked.

"Yep! He also insists that I become a marine..." Naruto trailed off, "But I want to be a pirate! I want to explore the high seas and write the best story ever!" Naruto paused. "If my nakama could see me now.." he muttered under his breath, shivering.

"So you're a journalist," Shanks stated.

"Yeah. If you had known me before, you'd never think it was possible, but here I am! A freelance writer," Naruto said cheerfully.

"You want to become a pirate, Naruto?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah! Garp-jiji went on and on about how great a marine I would become, and how he had high expectations on you doing the same," Naruto grinned..

"I'm going to become King of the Pirates! I'm going to gather nakama and head out to the Grand Line in pursuit of the One Piece!" Luffy exclaimed, punching the air with both of his fists.

A/N. I skipped the first bandit attack because everyone who's seen One Piece knows what happened and I was too lazy to write it out. Also, I'm thinking of maybe giving Luffy the ability to make people recall their 'other' lives. Should I? If so, should I make the entire crew aware of their past lives? Or should I just make a few aware? Naruto's dream will be explained next chapter.


	2. Naruto's Dream and Luffy's Haki

Chapter 2: _Time Skip- Shank's Return, Luffy's Haki, and Naruto's Dream_

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THOSE THINGS ABOUT SHANKS! HE'S A GREAT PIRATE AND YOU'RE NOTHING BUT TRASH!"

These words were the reason Luffy and Naruto were surrounded by mountain bandits. They were both bound, and because neither of their bodies had been trained to be able to handle their past lives' abilities, they were completely and utterly helpless. All they could do was wait and hope that help came, which it did. In the form of Red-Haired Shanks.

"Oi pirate, you're still here? What are you doing, cleaning up the whole village?" The leader, a man by the name of Higuma, sneered.

"Hey, Luffy-kun. I thought your punches were as strong as pistols," Shanks chuckled.

"SHUT UP!" Luffy screamed at him.

"Oi! Don't come any closer or we'll blow your head off!" One of Higuma's cronies shouted, pointing a gun at Shanks' head. The other bandits smirked, thinking that they had him cornered.

"Now that you have your pistol out, are you willing to use it?" Shanks asked.

"What?" The man with the gun asked.

Shanks pointed at the gun. "Weapons aren't meant for threats, they're meant for action," he finished. Lucky Roo shot the man who had Shanks at gunpoint in the head. The others all gaped at him.

"He killed him!"One of the bandits shouted.

"You dirty bastards!" Another snarled.

"Dirty? You think we're saints or somethin'?" Benn asked.

"We're pirates!" Yasopp added.

"Listen,you can throw food at me, spit at me, or even spill sake on me, and I'll laugh it off. However, I won't allow you to hurt any one of my friends, no matter what the reason may be," Shanks said, his eyes cold.

"Captain, allow me to take care of this. You don't need to waste your time with them," Benn offered, brandishing his gun.

"Go right ahead, Benn" Shanks replied.

It was over in a matter of seconds, the only one left standing was Higuma, and the only reason he was standing was because he was holding Naruto and Luffy hostage.

"What's wrong, Higuma? I thought you had an eight million beri bounty," Benn taunted.

Higuma's face went red with rage. "This isn't over yet!" he snarled, throwing down a smoke bomb, kidnapping Luffy and Naruto while the pirates were distracted.

* * *

"What are we going to do, Luffy?" Naruto whispered.

"Just watch. I've got this under control. I didn't want to use this ability with Shanks around, because he'd start asking questions, but because of your circumstances..." Luffy whispered.

Naruto had revealed to Luffy his past life as a shinobi, and in return Luffy told him about his deal with Ace.

"What are you two whispering about? Trying to plot your escape?" Higuma grinned.

"Yep!" Luffy grinned.

"HAH! Do you really think you can escape from me?" Higuma laughed,

"You might want to look behind you. That sea king really looks hungry," Naruto commented.

Higuma paled. He slowly turned around, and screamed. He started to row as fast as possible away from the sea king, but the sea king decided that it wanted bandit for dinner. That is, until it was knocked out by something.

Higuma sighed in relief. Luffy caught Naruto's eye and winked, which caused Naruto to grin.

"Glad to know you're safe," a voice commented.

Higuma turned to see Shanks standing behind him, his arms crossed and a _very_ angry expression on his face.

"You've got three seconds to explain just what you were about to do to these boys," Shanks growled.

"I...uh...um..." Higuma stammered, his face white as a sheet.

"Time's up!" Shanks quite literally kicked Higuma off the boat, sending him flying into the horizon and out of sight. He turned his glare to Luffy, who was pale.

"Explain to me what happened to that sea king," Shanks demanded.

"I...um... don't know what you're talking about," Luffy lied.

Shanks groaned. "Never mind. I'm glad you're safe,"

Luffy sighed in relief. His haki was still secret, for now.

* * *

Naruto and Luffy were in the apartment Makino had given the two of them while Garp was away. Naruto was writing the down the day's events while Luffy was devouring piles of meat sticks.

"Oi Luffy, would you at least _try_ to be quiet?! I'm trying to concentrate here!" Naruto groaned.

"Shawy, but shish meat ish shooo gooood!" Luffy exclaimed, his mouth stuffed.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "That's not a good reason to not eat slowly and _savour your food!_ " he quipped.

Luffy swallowed his food. "But if I did that I wouldn't have time to eat all of my food," He pointed out, grinning.

' _He's hopeless,'_ Naruto decided. ' _Then again, I don't really have any room to talk when it comes to my old eating habits. Ero-sennin made me learn manners, 'to impress the ladies,'_ _he said. I should thank him for that some time. Wait, did I just thank ero-sennin for his manners course? I must be going mad..._

Naruto hadn't really thought about his past life since he ended up on Dawn Island. He didn't have any reason too, as he knew he'd be reunited with his nakama eventually. He'd already seen evidence that Jiraiya had been reincarnated...

 _Flashback_

Garp had just left Dawn Island, leaving Naruto on his own. Naruto decided to go to the bookstore in Foosha Village, to check to see if there were any new books in.

"If it isn't our favorite customer! What can I do for you, Naruto-kun?" the man behind the desk asked him.

"Anything new in, Max?" Naruto asked.

"Actually there is, but..." Max trailed off, "Forget I said anything. You're not an adult yet, so you can't buy it anyways,"

"Wait, what?" Naruto asked, his eyes widening slightly.

Max sighed. "A few new books came in, all from a series called Icha Icha," he explained, "There's Icha Icha Tactics, Icha Icha Paradise, and Icha Icha Violence. Hey, why are you crying?" he asked, surprised at the liquid streaming down Naruto's cheeks.

Naruto wiped his eyes with his forearm, "I've j-just got something in my eye, that's all," he muttered. ' _Hey Kurama, did you hear that?'_

" **Hmph. That old perverted godfather of yours is back in action, huh? Seems coming to this world did have its benefits after all..."** Kurama grinned.

Max shrugged. "Whatever," he said, "Is that everything for you?"

"Yeah, that's it. See you around!" Naruto.

Meanwhile, Kurama was pondering about that changes he'd experienced while he was with Naruto. Ever since the Uchiha had forced him to attack the village, he'd developed a hatred towards humans that couldn't be controlled. He'd dubbed himself a 'manifestation' of hatred. His hatred towards them deepened even further when he saw how they treated his host. He'd tried to use Naruto several times, offering him power in hopes of taking him over. That is, until the day Naruto took all of his chakra, with some help from his mother, Kushina Uzumaki.

After a while, Naruto started to try and get to know Kurama. He'd start conversations, he'd ask for his opinion, he'd ask how he was doing. he did it constantly enough that Kurama started to care for the boy. He even told Naruto his real name, something he hadn't done for _any_ of his hosts. They became like brothers. Kurama started to care for his well-being and his happiness more, and he was the one who comforted Naruto when his friends died. He'd become what his old self would have deemed 'weak', because of his attachment to his container, no, his brother, Naruto Uzumaki.

 _End Flashback_

Luffy had fallen asleep about a half hour before Naruto finished his journal for the day. Garp was coming back in a week, according to what Luffy said, which meant he'd have some time before the training from hell that really only taught survival instincts. Luffy had chosen to keep their abilities hidden from Garp, as they'd have plenty of time before they turned 17 and Garp wasn't going to be there during the last seven years.

He'd debated about whether or not to teach Luffy how to control chakra. If he learned, it would give him _enormous_ advantages, like being able to walk on water and stick to any surface. Kurama had discovered that Luffy's chakra system was similar to that of an undeveloped Jinchuriki's. He didn't know why, but he guessed that it was because of the fruit he ate, the Gomu Gomu no Mi.

But Naruto really wasn't the best at teaching that sort of stuff. He'd managed to teach Konohamaru the Rasengan, but that was because he'd used the method Jiraiya used on him, starting with the water balloon, then the rubber ball, then keeping it all compressed in a fragile air filled balloon.

Naruto shrugged. "I'll give it a shot. I'll try to teach Luffy how to control chakra. It can't be that hard..."

* * *

Luffy found himself in the same cavern where he found the One Piece. He looked down and saw that he was in his adult body, complete with the x-shaped scar on his chest.

"Why am I here?" he asked out loud.

"Because I wanted to talk to you," Ace answered, materializing in front of Luffy.

"Why?" Luffy asked.

"There's something I need to tell you. A side effect of using the One Piece that will probably impact everything you do in your new life," Ace explained.

"What sort of side effect?" Luffy asked.

"When people are around you, they will experience flashes of their other lives, via dreams. Because you are from a different time, their spirits will try to enter their younger bodies," Ace replied.

Luffy grinned, "So it's possible for my nakama to remember?" he asked.

Ace nodded, "You've gotten a lot smarter, Luffy," he beamed.

Luffy looked down. "To be honest, I've always understood more than I've let on. I've let people think I'm an idiot because I didn't want them to know the kind of pain I've felt. It's why I don't care about anyone's past, as well. Everyone on the crew has had a pretty painful past. Nami's foster mother was murdered in front of her own eyes. Zoro's friend died at a very young age. Usopp's mother was taken from him by an incurable disease, and his father left to be with Shank's crew. Robin's entire home town was destroyed by the marines, and she's been a wanted criminal ever since she was eight years old, simply for possessing the ability to decipher poneglyphs. Franky's town was attacked by the very same ships that he created, stolen from him by the World Government. Brook's entire crew was slaughtered and he was alone for fifty years, with only his violin, memories, and voice as company. Chopper's foster-father was ravished by an incurable disease and to make matters worse, Chopper threw together a soup made of a mushroom that he thought could cure anything, but in reality was deadly poison; and me...well you know my past pretty well, because we grew up together,"

Ace stared at him. "For somebody who doesn't care about people's pasts, you sure know a lot about your crew's," he noted.

"They all kept journals in some shape or form. I read them after... well after Akainu's attack on us," Luffy muttered thickly.

Ace nodded in understanding. "Let's get back to discussing the One Piece. As I was saying earlier, being around you will start to awaken your nakama's memories, because their spirits will be trying to enter their younger bodies. I want you to know there's a way for you to make them remember everything all at once, if you so choose,"

Luffy blinked, then he grinned. "Let's hear it!"

Ace took a deep breath, "What you have to do is put one or both of your hands on their body and concentrate. The memories will flow through them, the stronger your bond was in the last life, the easier it will be to get them to remember. The only real drawback is that you'll be really, _really_ exhausted after awakening someone's memory," he explained.

Luffy grinned, "That sounds really easy!" He proclaimed.

Ace nodded, ""The first time you see me, I want you to reawaken my memories,"

Luffy was taken aback, "Why?" he asked.

"I was a jerk to you when I first met you, remember? I spat on you, I insulted you, I tried to make your life miserable. I don't want to do that to you again," he responded.

"Will you remember this conversation?" Luffy asked.

"Most likely," Ace replied.

"Ok, I'll do it! I can't wait to hug you again, shishishishi!" Luffy grinned.

* * *

Luffy sat up, groaning. ' _That felt so real...'_ he thought.

"Good morning, Luffy," Naruto beamed, sitting up next to him.

"'Morning, Naru," Luffy mumbled sleepily, "Do we have any meat ready?"

Naruto crossed his arms, "We're having ramen today," he stated, his eyes narrowed.

"What?! But my meat!" Luffy complained.

"Ramen! Ramen is better!" Naruto shouted.

"No way, we need meat!"

"Ramen!"

"Meat!"

"Ramen!"

"Me-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Naruto and Luffy turned to see Makino standing at the door. "You two are going to wake up the entire village at this rate! Do you realize how early it is?" She growled.

The two boys scratched the back of their heads, a sheepish expression on their faces. "Sorry Makino," they mumbled in unison.

"It's fine, Shanks is leaving soon, so I thought you'd want to see them off," she informed them.

The brothers' eyes widened. "Take us to the harbor!" Luffy demanded.

* * *

"Oi Shanks!" Luffy called as soon as he reached the harbor.

"No, I'm not going to take you with me, if that's what you're asking," Shanks grinned.

"I'm going to become king of the pirates! I don't need to follow your crew around because I'll get my own! I'll have nakama so powerful you'll be jealous!" Luffy shouted.

"Oh? In that case, I'll give you something," Shanks placed his straw hat on Luffy's head, "This hat was given to me by my old captain, Gold Roger. I want you to have it. When you become good enough to beat me, I'll take it back. Make sure you take care of it until then," Shanks promised him.

Naruto's eyes widened, his hand moving towards his forehead. This incident reminded him so much of when he received his first Konoha headband.

 _Flashback_

"Open your eyes, Naruto-kun," Iruka said.

Naruto did as he was told. "Where is the gift you promised me, Iruka-sensei?" he asked.

Iruka gestured to his forehead. Naruto's eyes widened. "Your headband, you didn't..." he whispered, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Congratulations, Naruto-kun. You are officially a genin of Konoha," Iruka grinned.

"Thank you! I promise I won't let you down, Iruka-sensei! I'll become Hokage, just you wait!" Naruto grinned, tackling his sensei in a hug.

 _End Flashback_

' _He really is just like me,'_ Naruto thought. ' _We don't have the same dream, but we both received something that meant a lot to someone who was like our father figure. I got Iruka's Konoha headband, and Luffy received Shanks' hat. I wonder if this is why Kami decided we should be brothers,'_

Naruto's dream was to write the best story that ever existed. He was inspired by the fact that his godfather seemed to enjoy writing, albeit the fact that most of his books were questionable at best. Naruto supposed the dream started sprouting just after Jiraiya's death, but because of the Fourth Shinobi War, he never got the chance to sit down and start writing. Kurama helped him improve his calligraphy skills so that he could learn how to seal, and Tsunade had granted him access to several vaults that were filled with Uzumaki secret fūinjutsu.

He fully realized his dream when he read his sensei's first book, which surprisingly wasn't centered on adult situations. He remembered _The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi,_ quite well. His parents had named him after the main character in the book, and that book made him want to write stories that people could relate too. He dreamed of writing a book that would be read and loved by everyone in the world, one so utterly fantastic that it was impossible to hate. Maybe then he could achieve his other dream of world peace.

AN: So how did I do? What did you think of Luffy and Ace's conversation? Please review, and please no flames! Constructive criticism is welcome, as well.


	3. Ace, Sabo, and the Mountain Bandits

Chapter 3: _Ace, Sabo, and the Mountain Bandits_

From the second Garp set foot in Foosha Village, he once again put Naruto and Luffy through what Naruto dubbed "The Training From Hell,". Naruto was planning on starting chakra control exercises, and Luffy wanted to teach Naruto haki. However, that would have to wait until _after_ they climbed out of the ravine filled with all sorts of dangerous animals. At the moment, the boys were trying not to get trampled by a stampede of angry rhinos that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST KNOCK THEM OUT?!" Naruto screamed.

"JIJI-SAN WOULD NOTICE! I'VE ALREADY TOLD YOU I DON'T WANT HIM KNOWING ABOUT MY HAKI!" Luffy screamed back.

" **Kit, if you don't do something fast, you and Luffy are going to be ground to dust,"** Kurama commented.

"SHUT UP STUPID FOX!" Naruto yelled.

Kurama laughed, " **You could use your chakra to take Luffy and climb out of the ravine, but that probably didn't come to mind, did it? Nope, you've been too busy running from a bunch of pathetic critters,"**

"YOU CALL THOSE MONSTROSITIES PATHETIC?" Naruto screamed.

Luffy stared at him, "Did Kurama really say that?" he asked.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Yup. Climb on my back, we're going to be scaling the wall,"

Luffy stared at the rock. "I don't know how you're going to climb up that, but since you're my brother I trust you," he said, doing as he was told.

Naruto channeled some chakra into his feet, and started running straight up the cliff-side.

"WOW! THAT'S SO COOL!" Luffy yelped.

When they got to the top, Naruto put Luffy down and sat down. "It's been a month since Shanks left," Luffy grinned, "If I recall correctly, today's the day Jiji-san introduces me to the bandits,"

"The ones that Garp-jiji threatened with prison to take you in?" Naruto asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Shishishishi, yep! And he's just about here! I can sense him," Luffy grinned.

"Kurama says he'll be here in about ten minutes. I have a question, was he this sadistic the first time around?"

Luffy grinned. "Nope!"

"WHY ARE YOU GRINNING?! ARE YOU A MASOCHIST?!" Naruto screamed.

Luffy shook his head. "No, I'm just looking forward to seeing Ace and Sabo again," he responded.

* * *

 **Time Skip:** **At the Mountain Bandits' Residence**

"YOU WANT US TO TAKE IN TWO OTHERS?!" one of the bandits screamed.

"NO WAY! WE SHOULDN'T HAVE EVEN TAKEN IN ACE! THAT LITTLE BASTARD MAKES TIGERS LOOK TAME!" Another snarled.

Garp smirked, "You know, with the amount of crimes you've committed it'd be easy to get you in jail. I suppose you'd rather spend the rest of your days in a cell,"

Dadan grimaced, "That's blackmail, you bastard!" she growled.

"I'd almost rather take prison," Dogura muttered, the others nodding in agreement.

Naruto leaned in to Luffy, "Why do they hate Ace so much?" he whispered, "When I met him, he seemed pretty friendly..."

Luffy grimaced. "You'll see," he whispered back.

A boy that was about nine years old forced his way through the crowd. His eyes narrowed when he saw Naruto and Luffy. Luffy grinned at the sight of the boy.

"Are you this Ace person that everyone's been complaining about?" he asked.

Ace glared at him, and then spat on Luffy's face. Luffy grinned, put his hand on Ace's shoulder,and closed his eyes.

Ace's eyes were on Luffy, his face clearly showing that he was confused. When he looked behind Luffy, there was a shirtless man, grinning from ear to ear, a fedora on his head. His face had freckles, much like Ace's did. The man started walking towards him, going through the bandits as if they were made of air. Ace realized that nobody was moving a muscle, and he couldn't feel the breeze that normally flowed through the home. It was like everything was frozen. All Ace could do was watch as the strange man came closer.

"Wh-who are you?" Ace gulped.

"I'm you," the man replied.

Ace rolled his eyes, "Yeah, sure," he grumbled, "And I'm the Pirate King,"

The man grinned, "I was worried that Luffy might forget his promise, but I guess my worries were unfounded. Now, it's time for you and I to merge,"

Ace paled, "What does that mean?" he asked nervously.

The man reached into Ace's chest. The world erupted in a flash of bright white, and memories poured in Ace's mind. From leaving Foosha to his last conversation with Luffy, he could remember everything.

Everything sped back up. Luffy toppled over, utterly exhausted. Ace caught him before he hit the ground, grinning at Luffy's sleeping form.

"Why did he pass out all of a sudden?" someone asked.

Garp laughed, "Probably exhausted from all of my training!" he proclaimed.

"Wouldn't be that surprising," Naruto grumbled, "I feel like I'm about to pass out myself,"

" **I still can't believe you let a bunch of weak little dogs chase you around like that. Aren't you supposed to be the hero of Konoha? The one who defeated the wielder of the Rinnegan, Nagato?"** Kurama teased.

' _You know as well as I do that I haven't even mastered the Rasengan yet. I'm still on the third stage. When I fought Nagato, I had Sage Mode, along with my Fuuton:Rasenshuriken,'_ Naruto grumbled.

" **You could have at least used shadow clones,"** Kurama reminded him.

' _I wonder what Garp-jiji would think if he saw copies of me running around,'_ Naruto shot back.

" **You could say it was the result of a Devil Fruit,"** Kurama suggested.

"...Naruto-kun? You listening?" Garp's voice broke the conversation.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" Naruto asked.

"I was saying that you're going to be learning skills essential to becoming a good marine! I fully expect you to enter the Navy and rise to the top!" He stated.

"No way! I've already told you my dream of becoming the Pirate King!" Luffy argued.

"And I'm going to be going with him!" Naruto added.

Garp's face contorted in rage. "I'M NOT GOING TO HAVE MY GRANDSONS HUNTED DOWN BY THE GOVERNMENT!" he snarled, "Dadan, you better take good care of those two. I've got to head out,"

* * *

It had been two weeks since Garp had left Naruto and Luffy at the mercy of the bandits. After Ace had introduced him, Sabo decided to live with the mountain bandits as well. This time around, Ace decided not to steal Bluejam's treasure, so they could avoid his wrath. During the spars the four boys had from time to time, Naruto and Luffy both decided to hold back. Naruto was about two months younger than Luffy, making him the physically youngest of the four.

Luffy had done surprisingly well with the chakra control exercises Naruto had taught him. He'd discovered his chakra within the first day, and managed to balance leaves on the third. He'd mastered tree walking by the end of the first week, and water walking about three days after that. Right now, he was working on the three academy jutsu, with the exception of the bunshin, because he had the same problem Naruto did-he had _really_ large chakra reserves.

Meanwhile, Ace and Sabo were still working on finding their chakra. Naruto wasn't surprised, it was extremely rare for someone to find it on their first day. Heck, Naruto himself took two months before he'd managed to find his.

"How is Luffy so much better at us than this?" Sabo complained.

"How am I supposed to know?!" Ace retorted.

"He probably got lucky," Sabo grumbled.

"You two are supposed to be meditating," Naruto reminded them, "Luffy! The hand signs are ram-boar- _ox_ -dog-snake, not ram-boar- _fox_ -dog-snake! Pay attention, would you?!"

"How did you learn this stuff anyways?" Sabo asked.

"This? I learned it at a place called Konohagakure," Naruto replied cheerfully.

"Village Hidden in the Leaves? What kind of name is that?" Sabo asked.

"The name of my old home before I was reincarnated," Naruto retorted.

Ace thumped Naruto's head. "You're not supposed to tell that to _anyone!_ " He hissed in his ear.

"Why not? He's my brother now, I don't want to keep secrets from him," Naruto retorted.

Ace sighed. "Fair point," he muttered.

"What are you two arguing about? I'm not going to tell anyone about this reincarnation thing of yours. I think it's really cool! Can you tell me more about your other life?," Sabo grinned.

"Alright, I'll tell you. When I was young, I was hated by everyone, for something that I didn't even know about until later..."

"What?! Why? What did they do to you?"

"When I was six, I was kicked out of the orphanage and left on the streets. It was only because of the Hokage(that's the name of our village's leader) that I was able to survive at all. I was the victim of countless beatings. There were several times I was on the verge of starvation because people kept stealing my food..."

Sabo's eyes widened. "That must have been tough..."

Naruto nodded. He preceded to tell them about getting in the the Academy, being held back because he hadn't learned how to read, his graduation, meeting Team Seven, he didn't leave out a single detail, and after several hours, he finished describing his final battle with Madara, which ended with the Elemental Nations getting destroyed and being reincarnated here, in a different dimension. After he finished, he noticed that Luffy was listening, even though he'd heard it all already.

"That's not quite accurate," Ace interrupted.

"What do you mean, 'that's not quite accurate? That's what you told me when you made that offer to me," Naruto pointed out.

"You're actually in a different time period, not a different dimension. You were reborn hundreds of years after the Elemental Nations were destroyed," Ace informed him.

"It doesn't really matter. I'm here now, and that's what matters," Naruto grinned.

"Yeah! This time, I get a new brother! One I didn't have last time!" Luffy grinned.

Ace facepalmed. Sabo was confused. "Wait, what?!" He asked.

"I'm a time traveler!" Luffy beamed.

"My family is messed up," Sabo moaned. "Three time travelers! Am I the only normal one here?"

"Yep!" Luffy, Naruto, and Ace chorused.

"For now," Luffy added.

* * *

 **Time Skip: Rescuing Sabo**

' _Sabo! I'm coming!'_ Luffy thought. He noticed the giant ship that belonged the Celestial Dragons, and floating near it was the wreckage of the ship that belonged to Sabo. Luffy used his Haki to locate Sabo, and used Soru combined with his chakra to bring him out from under all of that. Luffy knew that Sabo had lost his memories as a result of the attack, and as such he'd saved the memory transfer.

Once he retrieved Sabo, he headed back to Dadan's Kingdom, where Naruto and Ace were waiting. Everyone else was asleep.

One he got back, their friends immediately rushed to his side.

"He's still breathing," Ace muttered in shock.

Luffy nodded, "Yeah. I never told you this, but Sabo managed to survive this attack, but he lost all of his memories. They were reawakened after your death, though. He also inherited your Mera Mera no Mi,"

Ace shook his head. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He asked.

"Ummm. It never came up?" Luffy asked nervously.

Ace whacked Luffy on the head. "IDIOT! I would have liked to know sooner! Like before I died!"

"I didn't meet him until a few years after your death! How was I supposed know Sabo was alive?! I can't see the future!" Luffy yelped.

Ace calmed down, "Sorry. I guess I got carried away," he grinned.

"Let's get back to Sabo, shall we?" Naruto muttered.

Ace nodded, "You know what to do, Luffy," he said.

Luffy nodded. He put his hands on Sabo's chest and concentrated. An aura formed around Sabo's body. The aura pulsed three times, before it faded away. Luffy lost consciousness, and Ace caught him before he hit the ground.

"So Sabo is a time traveler now, huh?" Naruto asked.

Ace nodded. "Yup! I'll stay and wait for him to wake up. Go get some sleep," he ordered.

Naruto shook his head, "I want to be here when he wakes up. He's my brother, after all,"

Ace grinned. "Okay, you do that," he said.

 **A/N: How did I do? Good? Bad? Please review!**

 **Also, down below, I've written out an omake. Do you want more of these, or no?**

Omake: Brook's Journal

 _Strawhat Luffy here. I added the years in after Brook was defeated by Akainu. It took awhile. I hope that whoever reads this knows how great of a man Brook was. His heart was one of the brightest on our crew, though I suppose he didn't have a heart when he was with us... a physical one at least. Ah, sorry for the tear stains. I can't even make one of Brook's old "skull jokes" without crying..._

32 BPE(Before Pirate Era)

Entry 1:

 _My crew arrived at reverse mountain, along with a friend we met along the way called Laboon. We were forced to leave him behind, though, because the Grand Line was too dangerous. We promised him we'd be back, though, and we meant it._

Entry 2:

 _Leanne whacked me again. She called me a 'pervert,'. All I did was ask to look at her panties..._

Entry 3:

 _We arrived at a place called Little Garden. Apparently, we're going to be stuck here for a whole YEAR! And if that wasn't bad enough, this place is crawling with things that are supposed to be extinct! Not to mention the giants..._

Entry 4:

 _Found an odd fruit. I suspect it might be one of those Devil Fruits I've heard stories of._

Entry 5:

 _After showing the captain the odd fruit, he confirmed my theory. He suggested I eat it. It was the worst tasting thing ever! Dorry couldn't stop laughing after he saw my reaction to it. Apparently, I ate the 'Yomi Yomi no Mi,'. I wonder what it does..._

* * *

30 BPE

Entry 6:

 _We've managed to survive that year, though a couple of our crewmates have gotten sick. None of gotten Kestia, though, thank God. I hope the disease doesn't spread..._

Entry 7:

 _More got sick. Our doctor is doing the best he can, but I'm getting worried about the safety of our crew..._

* * *

29 BPE

Entry 8:

 _Our crew was forced to split up. Our captain, along with those who were sick, left. Captain Yorki left me in charge, though I don't know if I'm up to handling that kind of responsibility_

Entry 9:

 _Arrived at a place called Drum Island. The doctors here are top notch! The king was really welcoming, though his son is a real piece of work. Leanne whacked me again._

Entry 10:

 _Log pose reset after a week on Drum Island. After another week on sea, we arrived at a place called Alabasta. After spending a month there, let me tell you that I HATE DESSERTS!_

* * *

28 BPE:

Entry 11

 _It's been awhile since I've last written in here. So much has happened. I failed my crew, I lead them towards disaster. I'm such a worthless captain. The only reason I'm alive is because of my Yomi Yomi no Mi._

 _Let me start from the beginning. We were ambushed by somebody who used poison-tipped weapons. As a result, the entire crew was wiped out. I suggested we sing one last song for Laboon, the song that he loved. It was a fitting end to the Rumbar Pirates, "The crew who brought a smile to every child," singing Bink's Sake. Laboon will know we kept our promise to him when I deliver the Tone Dial to him._

 _My soul got separated from my body, and when I managed to find it, there was nothing but bones and my old afro. I get goosebumps everytime I think about what people will think when they see me, though I suppose I don't have skin to get goosebumps on, YOHOHOHOHO!_

* * *

Year 2(After the Pirate Era's beginning)

Entry 12:

 _It's almost been thirty years since I've gotten stranded here. I manage to keep myself sane by reading my journal, but I haven't had anything really interesting to write. The ship is starting to rot. I don't know how much more of this I can take! On a side note, I've gotten a lot better at the violin and piano..._

* * *

Year 24

Entry 13:

 _Fifty years without company makes a man really lonely. I almost had a heart attack when another ship sailed right past mine! It was a pirate ship, and the jolly roger was one I'd never seen before. I met the captain, a boy by the name of Monkey D. Luffy, and he asked me to join! I don't think I've ever been so happy! I agreed instantly. The others looked pretty nervous to be around me, but they seemed to relax once they got to know me. Luffy reminds of my old captain, Yorki, for some reason, and I think that may be one of the reasons I agreed, though not the main one. It feels odd to be serving under one so much younger than me. I just realized that if I were a normal human, I'd be having a lot more trouble moving! I am 90 years old, after all._

Entry 14

 _Nami keeps yelling at me. I don't know how, but her punches hurt! I don't have nerves, so how do I feel the pain? She scares me..._

 **A/N: Please review! How did I do? Was Brook out of character?**


	4. Heading out! Sabo's Choice and Toads

Chapter 4: Heading Out! Sabo's Decision and the Toads!

It was the day that Ace turned seventeen. He was getting ready to leave Foosha, excited to join Whitebeard's crew for the second time. Luffy had made him promise not to go after Blackbeard without any help. He was about finished packing when he heard a knock on his door.

"It's unlocked! Come in," He called.

In walked a nervous looking Sabo. Ace grinned, "So, you've decided?"

Sabo nodded, "Yeah," he mumbled.

"What's wrong?" Ace asked, concerned.

Sabo sighed, "I've decided to go with Luffy,"

Ace grinned, "I figured you would. He does need at least one of his older brothers to look after him,"

Sabo's eyes widened, "So you're not mad?" he asked.

Ace shook his head. "It's your choice! I can't force you to do anything!"

Sabo grinned, "Thank you! I hope we meet again someday!"

"We will! Don't worry about that," Ace laughed.

"We're more powerful this time around. Naruto teaching us how to use chakra has really helped," Sabo muttered.

Ace grinned, "Yep! We'll have an advantage out there, especially with techniques like the Kage Bunshin and elemental jutsu,"

"And haki," Sabo reminded him.

"And haki," Ace agreed

They had learned a lot over the past seven years. Luffy and Naruto both put everyone through the ringer to make them learn as much as possible before heading out. Naruto had managed to relearn Sage Mode and his Fuuton:Rasenshuriken, and he'd managed to reconstruct his father's jutsu, the Hirashin, though it wasn't perfected yet. He could stay in Kyuubi Chakra Mode for about five minutes at a time, but he was completely vulnerable for about ten seconds after it dissipated.

Luffy had managed to gain control of his Second and Third Gears, and was working on Gear Fourth. He'd also managed to learn the Six Powers, though because he mastered them just two days before Ace's departure, he hadn't had time to teach him.

"Bye Ace," Sabo grinned, giving his brother one last hug.

Ace chuckled, and returned the hug. "By, Sabo,"

* * *

After Ace had left, Sabo decided to go wandering around the shore. Luffy and Naruto were back at Dadan's Kingdom, doing Kami knows what. Sabo wanted some alone time, to collect his thoughts. That is, until he spotted an odd looking fruit.

Sabo picked it up and examined it. It looked like a blue apple, with swirls decorating the outside.

"A Devil Fruit?" Sabo wondered, "Certainly looks like one, but what is it doing all the way out here? Did it wash up?"

Sabo debated eating it. He knew that he wouldn't get any weaker by doing so, but he knew for a fact that Devil Fruits were the nastiest tasting things that ever existed.. The first time he'd eaten a Devil Fruit, it had been Ace's Mera Mera no Mi. Sabo grinned at the memory. Tha had been one awesome looking fruit.

"I'll take it back home. Luffy may know which Devil Fruit this is," Sabo decided.

* * *

Luffy and Naruto were outside of Dadan's Kingdom, sparring. When they saw Sabo, the stopped, and ran over to him.

"Hey guys! Check out what I found on the shore!" Sabo exclaimed, holding up the fruit.

Luffy examined it, "You're saying this washed up on the shore?!" he grinned.

"Yep. Do you happen to know which fruit it is?" Sabo questioned.

Luffy nodded. "Rayleigh had a catalog that contained information on several different fruits. That particular one is the Kaze Kaze no Mi,"

"Wind Wind Devil Fruit? So does that mean it's a logia?"

Luffy nodded, "Well, are you going to eat it? You did find it, after all,"

Sabo grinned, "Yeah, I am!"

"Well go on, then! It's not going to eat itself," Naruto encouraged him.

Sabo swallowed, "Might as well get it over with," he muttered. He ate the fruit as fast as possible, and after he had swallowed the last bite, immediately ran over to a nearby stream and took in several mouthfuls of water.

"So you're a wind man now, huh? THAT'S SO COOL!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Now I'm the only one here who hasn't eaten a Devil Fruit..." Naruto muttered, slightly downcast.

"You'll find one eventually," Luffy assured him.

Naruto grinned. "I'm powerful enough without one! I just want to eat one because all of my other brothers have or will be getting one,"

Luffy laughed, "That would be kind of cool, wouldn't it?"

"As long as it's not a zoan type. I can already transform myself into a giant fox, so that would be kind of useless to me..." Naruto went on.

"Tell you what, next Devil Fruit we find is yours, deal?" Luffy promised.

Naruto nodded, "Deal," he agreed. His eyes widened, "Luffy, before I forget, there's something I want to give you, and maybe Sabo as well,"

"What is it? Meat?" Luffy asked.

Naruto chuckled, "No. It's something a lot cooler than that," he stated.

Luffy had stars in his eyes, "What is it?" he asked.

Naruto bit his thumb and made the hand signs for his summoning, "Summoning Jutsu!" He yelled, placing his palm on the ground. A huge white cloud erupted from where Naruto placed his palm on the ground, and when it dissipated, Naruto was standing on the back of a giant toad, who had a scroll wrapped up in its tongue. When it saw Naruto on its back, it put the scroll down and glared.

"What happened?! Your name disappeared from the contract! Then all of a sudden, it reappeared along with Jiraiya's and Minato's! Explain!" it demanded.

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry Gama. I kind of died, then got reincarnated into a different time you not notice the hundreds of years that have gone by since the Elemental Nations were destroyed? Or did Kami just move your mountain to this time period? You know what, I bet that's what happened..."

Gama frowned, "Whatever. What do you want?"

"Would you be willing to accept two new contracts?" Naruto asked.

Gama blanched. "Two?! " He screeched, "You know as well as I do that we only accept one every twenty years!"

"Can you not make an exception? These two are brothers in all but blood after all," Naruto pressed, gesturing to Luffy and Sabo. Luffy and Sabo were staring at the toad, jaws on the floor in shock.

Gama sighed. "They'd have to go to Ōgama Sennin for evaluation. Nothing like this has ever happened before,"

Naruto grinned, "Then take us too him! I want to see Deka-jiichan Sennin again,"

"Wait, hold on! What do you mean evaluation?! Where are you taking us?!" Sabo asked, a panicked expression on his face.

"Don't worry! It'll be fine. We just need to leave before Shima invites us for dinner," Naruto assured him.

"Who's Shima?" Luffy asked.

Naruto winced, "She's one of the eldest toads. She's pretty stubborn and touchy about pretty much everything,"

"I'm going to inform Fukasaku that you and two others need to be reverse summoned. Make sure to keep in physical contact with those two," Gama ordered.

Naruto nodded, "You're dismissed then," he said. Gama vanished, a cloud of white smoke exploded from where he was standing. "You heard him. Make sure you keep a hold of me, so you don't get left behind,"

"What do you mean, left behind?" Luffy asked.

"JUST DO IT!" Naruto screamed.

Luffy and Sabo both placed their hands on Naruto's shoulder. It wasn't too long until they vanished, leaving no trace except for a cloud of white smoke.

* * *

The three boys found themselves in a sort of temple. In front of them was a huge throne, sitting in it was an extremely old toad, who wore a beaded necklace. On his shoulders sat two much smaller toads.

"So these are the delegates for the next holders of the Toad Contract, huh? I must say I'm not impressed," one muttered.

"Don't be so rude, Pa. After this is over, maybe we can get to know them over dinner" the other one suggested.

Naruto blanched, "No thank you. W-we don't have time for that," he stuttered, quickly putting his hand over Luffy's mouth. "We don't want to eat their cooking! It's food that's meant for toads! You know, like worms and caterpillars, along with other gross things," he whispered into Luffy's ear.

Luffy paled. "Got it. Don't stay for dinner," he whispered back, after Naruto took his hand off of his mouth.

"You've come to seek approval for two holders of our contract?" The one sitting in the throne asked.

"Yeah, Deka-jiichan Sennin, I have!" Naruto confirmed.

"Still as rude as always, aren't you, Naruto-boy?" Pa asked.

"Good to see you too, Pa," Naruto replied.

"PA?!" Luffy and Sabo yelled.

"That's his nickname. His real name is Fukasaku, and the one next to him is Shima, who everybody refers to as Ma," Naruto explained.

Understanding dawned on the other two boys. "So he's not your dad! That's good," Luffy grinned.

"Silence! I must commence the evaluation," Gamamaru stated.

For about ten minutes, Gamamaru examined Sabo and Luffy. The atmosphere in the room was tense, no one dared to make a sound. Finally, Gamamaru broke the silence with a cough. "I've decided that these two, along with their other brother, are worthy of the Contract!" he declared.

"You know about Ace?" Luffy asked, his eyes open in shock.

Gamamaru chuckled. "I'm an all-seeing toad, child. I know about your past-lives and your goals. As such, I've got a prophecy to give you. Four sages will have the power bring about a new era of peace, one in which the dragons sleep and the heavens rest. However, these four could also bring about an era of darkness, one in which war and bloodshed would be as common as blades of grass, never ending and merciless,"

Naruto groaned, "And who are the four sages?"

"That would be you and your new brothers," Gamamaru informed him.

"And how are you going to get the contract to Ace?" Naruto asked.

Meanwhile, Luffy's eyes were sparkling in wonder. "THE GRANDPA TOAD IS SO COOL!" Luffy yelled, beaming.

"Ignoring him... well? How are you going to do it?" Naruto asked.

"I'll take care of it. Before I do that, would you mind signing right here?" Fukasaku asked, holding out a pen and a note to Naruto.

"Sure, I'll sign," Naruto replied.

Fukasaku made several hand signs and placed his hand on the note, which vanished, along with the contract.

* * *

"I don't meet Whitebeard for another two days..." Ace muttered, "What to do, what to do...?"

Ace yelped as a cloud of white smoke appeared in front of him. After it dissipated, he noticed a scroll, with a note attached to it.

'This is the contract for Toad Summons. Your brother, Naruto has this contract, and both Luffy and Sabo are in the process of receiving it as well,'

The note went on to explain about the various different types of toads, how to summon the toads, and how to put one's name on the contract.

Signed, Fukasaku(most call me 'Pa')

Co-signed: Monkey D. Naruto, also known as Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto

Ace grinned, "Sure I'll sign!" he exclaimed. He opened the scroll, bit his thumb and wrote his name in the empty spot right next to Naruto's. He put a bit of blood on each finger and made his handprint, as well. As soon as he signed, the contract vanished, leaving just the note.

* * *

"So that's that. Now that you both have signed the contract, you are free to go," Fukasaku said.

"Do try to stop by for dinner sometime, won't you? Though I suppose you'll be staying here when you begin Sage training..." Shima trailed off.

Naruto shuddered. When he'd redone his Sage training, surviving off of that stuff had been even worse than the first time! Thankfully, Fukasaku had let him eat real food every once in awhile.

"How long until we begin Sage training?" Sabo whispered to Naruto.

"Don't worry, I'll have you train for a year before you come back. Luffy is going to leave Foosha when he's seventeen, right? Right now he's fourteen, so you have about three years before you leave. You'll spend one year practicing with your new contract, and the last two here on Mount Myoboku," Naruto explained.

"We're going to be here for two years?!" Luffy and Sabo yelped.

"Yep!" Naruto grinned.

"So you came here during that six-month period you were gone?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah, I had to relearn senjutsu, and you can't do that on your own," Naruto explained.

* * *

Time Skip: Departure

It'd been two months since Luffy and Sabo had gotten back from Mount Myoboku. The two had completed their senjutsu training early, and mastered frog kumite as well. Needless to say, Naruto was extremely impressed with their progress. Naruto wondered if the two would be able to handle his technique, Fuuton: Rasenshuriken. Naruto grinned. That would be one heck of a collaboration ninjutsu! They didn't have to be able to do it on their own, if the two could pull of together, then that'd be enough.  
"Hey Luffy! Go be a great pirate for us, okay?!" someone yelled.

"IDIOT! He's going to bring shame to our village. I don't want this to be the birthplace of a wanted criminal!" The mayor yelled.

"Oh come on, let him pursue his dream! He deserves that much, after all he's been through,"

"Yeah, cut him some slack!"

The mayor sighed, "Fine. Whatever,"

Luffy grinned, "Thank you for everything! You'll be seeing my name in the papers real soon!" he yelled, waving from his boat.

"Don't forget about us!" Sabo and Naruto laughed.

"Hmph. Three wanted criminals from my village. How shameful," the mayor muttered under his breath.

Dadan was standing with her back towards the three boys. Makino walked over to her, "You going to say anything to them?" she asked.

"No. I don't do farewells," Dadan replied.

Makino giggled, "You're crying, Dadan, you sure you don't want to say anything?"

Dadan wiped her eyes, then turned around. "I'M GOING TO MISS YOU!" she screamed, "EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE JUST A BUNCH OF BRATS!"

Luffy laughed. "I'LL BE BACK, DON'T YOU WORRY! I'LL BE BACK WHEN I'M KING OF THE PIRATES!" He yelled back, Sabo and Naruto nodding in agreement.

 **A/N: Did I make Sabo, Luffy, and Naruto too powerful? I don't think I did. Also, since this is a Smart!Luffy fic, should I have him learn fuuinjutsu? Maybe Hirashin? Right now, Sabo and Luffy are at the level Naruto was when he fought Pein(without using their Devil Fruit powers). I wonder what sort of abilities they'll have when they combine Devil Fruits with senjutsu?**


	5. Of Tangerines and Swords

Chapter 5: Of Tangerines and Swords

 **A/N: I am** ** _so_** **sorry for taking so long to edit. Real life has been a pain in the neck. I've started college now, so I may or may not have frequent updates.**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned anything, do you really think I'd be posting this story on ?**

"I'm huuuungryyy!"

"You ate five minutes ago, Luffy!" Sabo yelled.

"I'm still hungry! I need something that can give me energy, like meat!"

"No, ramen!"

"Meat!"

"Ramen!"

"MEAT!"

"RAMEN!"

"SHUT UP!"

Luffy and Naruto glared at each other one last time before they were interrupted by a News Coo. Naruto grinned and took the newspaper from its beak. He paid the bird the amount that he'd paid last time, but the bird shook its head.

" _You've raised your price?_ " Naruto asked dangerously.

The News Coo seemed oblivious to the looming threat. It nodded eagerly, pointing to the sign on its back.

"Two hundred beri?! No way am I paying that for a stinkin' newspaper!" Naruto snarled.

The bird crossed its wings. Naruto glared at it, "You will take what I give you and LIKE IT!" He yelled.

' _Naruto and Nami are kind of alike in some ways...'_ Luffy thought, grinning.

The bird flew off before it became food, sweat pouring down its face. Naruto rolled his eyes and unfurled the newspaper, and nine wanted posters fell to the ground.

' _Lightning Flash' Namikaze D. Minato: 500,000,000_

' _Crimson Devil' Uzumaki D. Kushina: 400,000,000_

' _White Haired Sage' Portgas D. Jiraiya: 600,000,000_

' _Devil Eyes' Uchiha D. Itachi: 300,000,000_

' _Vortex Eyes' Uchiha D. Obito, 500,000,000_

' _Death Medic,' Nohara D. Rin, 400,000,000_

' _Masked Shadow' Hatake D. Kakashi: 100,000,000_

' _Slug Princess' Senju D. Tsunade: 600,000,000  
_ ' _Green Beast' Maito D. Gai: 200,000,000_

Naruto grinned. "My older nakama have really been making a name for themselves. My parents have a combined bounty of 900,000,000! And they're alive at the same time as me this time around! I want to meet them!" he exclaimed.

"You're crying, Naruto," Sabo observed.

Naruto nodded, "I'm really happy that my parents have been reincarnated! Along with ero-sennin and Tsunade baa-chan! Not to mention Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke's brother! They all have the 'Will of D' too! I wonder how ero-sennin is related to Ace-nii... " he rambled. Naruto took a deep breath, "Anyways, I can sense a lot of people about a mile northwest of here. I bet it's a cruise ship of some sort,"

Luffy's eyes widened. "I can sense Nami! She's that way!" he pointed in the direction that Naruto indicated.

* * *

 _Luffy and a girl with short red hair were in standing in a house. "My name is Nami! I like money and tangerines!"_

 _Nami was kneeling on the ground, tears streaming down her face."Luffy...help me..."_

 _Zoro had asked to borrow some money. Nami had a mischievous grin on her face. "Sure you can borrow some money... It'll be 400% interest,"_

 _Akainu's molten arm was protruding out of Nami's stomach. Luffy was reminded of the day Ace died. "Luffy...I'm sorry I...let you down. Please...continue living..."_

* * *

Naruto smirked, "I guess it's settled! We're...woah!"

Luffy grinned, "Here comes the whirlpool!"

"WHAT?!" Sabo screamed as the wind started to pick up.

"How come you never mentioned this?! How did you even survive the first time around!" Naruto yelled.

Luffy gestured to the barrel behind Sabo, "I used that."

Sabo and Naruto rolled their eyes, "Figures. We can use geppo or walk on the water," Naruto muttered.

Luffy pouted, "The barrel worked last time! Why wouldn't it work this time?!"

"Please don't act like the idiot we all know you're not!" Sabo groaned.

"But it's fun!"

"That's not the point!"

"We're running out of time!" Naruto yelled as the ocean started to churn, the boat starting to spiral down the forming whirlpool.

"Geppo it is, then." Sabo said.

The three boys hopped off the boat and into the air. The ocean looked like a giant black hole, sucking in everything that dared to approach the churning waters. The boat rammed into one of the waves, breaking it in two.

"So, how are we going to get to Nami?" Luffy asked.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Go in the direction of their auras! We can either walk on the water or on the air. Your choice."

Luffy thought about it for a moment. "Let's see, people would freak out if we did either one, but if we walked on water, we could climb up a spot on the ship where nobody's watching," he mused.

Sabo gaped, "T-that was actually a good idea! You've gotten smarter, haven't you?"

Luffy grinned, "Studying Robin's journals does that to you." he said simply.

The three boys dropped down to the water, starting to run in the direction that Nami's aura was coming from.

* * *

"Who's the most beautiful woman on the seas?"

"T-that w-would be y-you, Alvida-sama."

"Very good, Coby!" Alvida grinned, "Now go do your chores. You are a cabin boy, after all!"

"H-hai, Alvida-sama!" Coby squeaked, running below decks, mop in hand.' _Why did this have to happen to me?'_ he thought miserably.

"Heh, what do we have here!" Someone jeered.

"It's the little coward!" Someone else piped up.

"L-leave me alone!" Coby said..

"Look, he's trembling! The pansy..."

"You'll be coming with us on our next raid!"

"You better not run away."

"You know what will happen if you even try."

Coby's eyes started watering, ' _I want to become a marine! But I can't, because I'm stuck on this pirate ship. I'll break free someday, hopefully.'_

* * *

"We're here!" Luffy grinned.

"If we climb in at the back, we should be able to get in without alerting others to our presence." Sabo said.

"Great! Let's go!" Naruto exclaimed.

"So where did you say Nami was, Luffy? I'm excited to meet her!" Naruto said.

"She's that way." Luffy said, pointing.

"Right." Naruto nodded.

His eyes widened as he looked down the horizon, ' _Is that a ship?'_ he wondered. As the shape got bigger, he noticed that indeed it _was_ a ship, and a pirate ship at that.

"Let's get on before somebody notices us here!" Sabo said.

The three boys ran up the back of the ship, grinning from ear to ear. They managed to get on board without anyone noticing.

"Anyone else notice that pirate ship that's coming from the west?" Sabo asked.

Naruto and Luffy both nodded, "Yeah, they feel pretty weak, though." Naruto commented.

"They were." Luffy agreed.

Alvida's ship reached the cruise liner about ten minutes after the three brothers came aboard. At the time, the three brothers were making their way to Nami, who had started moving towards the pirate ship.

"Need to find Coby..." Luffy muttered under his breath.

"You say something, Luffy?" Naruto asked.

Luffy grinned, "I need to find someone else! Be right back!"

"But what about Nami?" Naruto asked.

"Coby's important, too! He needs to grow a spine and become a good marine!"

"Coby?" Naruto and Sabo asked.

"A friend of mine who I met on that ship. He's going to become one of the most powerful marines alive within the next ten years, but right now, he doesn't have the confidence needed to pull something like that off." Luffy said.

"You're friends with a marine, huh? Why am I not surprised?" Sabo said.

"Oh you know me! I can make friends of almost anyone!"

"Well then go. Make sure you don't forget about us when you leave." Naruto said.

"Got it!" Luffy said.

* * *

Luffy ran towards Coby's aura. It didn't take that long to find him, he was more than likely the youngest person on the ship, and his hair made him stand out due to its color.

"Hey kid! Do you happen to know where the kitchen is on this ship! I'm starving!" Luffy said.

"A-a-are you talking to me?" Coby asked.

"Of course! You look like you know where the meat is!" Luffy said, giving Coby his signature smile.

"I-I don't know."

"Oh well. Come with me and you can help me find it!"

"N-N-NANI?! Why would I?"

"Because I said so."

Coby sweatdropped. ' _This guy's an idiot.'_

Luffy grabbed Coby's arm and dragged him towards the smell of food. When they got to the pantry, Luffy grinned and stuffed his mouth full of fruit. It wasn't meat, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy it! Of course, meat would have been better.

"S-so, why did you drag me here?"

"Sho I coudsh ta' ya'." Luffy swallowed the food in his mouth, "So I could talk to you. You're in that hag's crew, right?"

Coby paled. "O-o-of course not!"

Luffy looked at him, "How did someone like you end up there anyways?"

Coby sighed and told his story. When he was done, Luffy laughed. "So you're a coward _and_ an idiot! I hate people like you!"

Coby looked down, "No need to rub it in." he said.

"There's no need to be upset. You can change. What's your dream? I want to be the Pirate King!"

"WHAT?! NO WAY! IMPOSSIBLE, IMPOSSIBLE! There's no way someone like you can become the Pirate King!"

Luffy laughed. "See, you do have courage! You just need to find it. Now let me ask you again, what is your dream?"

"I-I Want to be an Admiral and catch bad guys like Alvida!"

Luffy laughed again. He sensed someone's aura behind him and leapt out of the way as Alvida's club smashed the wall he had been leaning against.

"You want to catch _who?_ " Alvida said.

"N-n-no" Coby started, but Luffy's words ran through his head, " _You can change."_

"I'M GOING TO CATCH ALVIDA-TEME, THE UGLIEST HAG ON THE SEAS!"

Alvida snarled, "Die, brat!"

Luffy grinned and leapt in front of Coby, allowing Alvida's club to seemingly smash his head in. However, where the club hit, Luffy's head caved inward, like a trampoline head that had someone landed on and the weapon _bounced_ off, Luffy's head returning to normal as it did so.

"You can't hurt me like that, I'm a rubber man." He said.

"So you're not Roronoa Zoro. I take it you've eaten of the Devil Fruits?"

Luffy grinned, "I ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi and now my body is made of rubber! Let me give you a demonstration," He grabbed Alvida and threw her out of the pantry and into the hall, " _Gomu gomu no_ ," he threw his arms back, and they stretched all the way down the hall, " _BAZOOKA!_ " Alvida was thrown through several walls and into the sea due to the force of the attack.

"Well that's that! Come one Coby, let's get you to a marine base!" He said

* * *

A certain orange haired girl was grinning as she looked at the pirate's treasure. She was about to leave when she heard an explosion.

"What the hell was that?!" Somebody outside yelled.

Nami ran and she was shocked to see that the ship the pirates were robbing had several decently sized holes all in a row. They weren't in any place that would put the ship in danger, but she had to wonder what had caused those. Treasure in arms, she used the zip line to cross over and investigate, not noticing the fat lady struggling to swim.

* * *

Luffy grinned as he felt the familiar aura of his navigator near the ship. He ran as fast as he could towards her, a screaming Coby in tow.

* * *

"Luffy's started running." Naruto noted.

Sabo nodded, "Guess he's found our navigator."

Naruto grinned, "Then we'd better hurry!"

* * *

"HEY!"

Nami jumped, turning towards the voice. "What do you want?" she asked.

"I want to talk to you! My name is Monkey D. Luffy! You seem like you know your way around pretty well."

Nami straightened her back. "My name is Nami! I like tangerines and money, and I'm the best damn navigator you'll ever meet!"

Luffy grinned. "Can you help me and nakama find Shells Town?"

"A-ano. I-" Before Coby could say anything, Luffy put his hand over Coby's mouth.

Nami nodded, "Fine, I'll take you to Shells Town. But only if you let me tag along while you're there."

Luffy cheered.

* * *

 _Luffy was grinning at a bound man, who had a bandana around his head."So you're Roronoa Zoro. Do you want to join my crew?"_

" _I won't lower myself to become some pirate!" the man replied._

" _A wound on the back is a swordsman's shame."_

 _Zoro was bleeding badly, as a result of suffering a major defeat at the hands of one Hawkeyes Mihawk, "I'LL NEVER LOSE AGAIN! YOU HEAR ME, KING OF THE PIRATES?!"_

 _A giant of a man holding a bible was talking to a bleeding Zoro. Although no one knew it at the time, Luffy was barely conscious. "If you truly wish to take his place, then you must take his pain and make it your own. In your current condition, there is no way you'll be able to handle it."_

 _Zoro was badly burned, a smirking Akainu standing over him. "C-captain," he coughed, "Run away. Don't look back and chase your dream."_

* * *

"There you are Luffy!"

Luffy turned and saw his brothers running towards him. "Hi guys! Nami, Coby, these are my brothers, Sabo and Monkey D. Naruto!"

"So you managed to pick up a navigator, then?" Sabo asked.

"Yep! She'll be with us for a while!"

Nami was about to yell that she hadn't agreed to anything, but something stopped her. There was something...familiar about the straw-hat wearing boy. She couldn't quite place her finger on it, but she knew that somehow, staying with him would make her happier. Of course, she couldn't get too close to him, seeing as how she'd betray him in the end. After all...it was all she was good at.

So why did it hurt to think about the day she'd inevitably have to leave?

* * *

 _On the boat, which the crew stole from the cruise ship.._

"EHH?! You're _PIRATES?!_ "

"Yeah! We're pirates 'cuz the World Government is mean! And I want to be the man with the most freedom!" Luffy said.

Nami sweatdropped. ' _Luffy's an idiot. He seems pretty nice for a pirate, though.'_ "We're almost at Shells Town. We'll see the shore in about five minutes."

"YATTA! My swordsman and first mate is there!"

Coby paled. "You can't seriously be talking about Roronoa Zoro, can you? He's a demon! A monster!"

Luffy punched Coby on the head. "Don't say things like that about people you've never met. It's not nice." he said.

Coby sighed "Gomen, Luffy-san."

"Don't you already have a first mate? I mean, your brothers..." Nami started to say, but was cut off.

"Are more like co-captains than first mates." Luffy said.

"A first mate is special. They're the ones that have been with the crew the longest, aside from the captain." Sabo said.

"The harbor is in sight! Prepare for docking!" Luffy yelled, a massive grin on his face.

"Aye, captain!" Sabo, Naruto and surprisingly Nami chorused.

* * *

 _After arrival..._

"So where do you think Zoro-san is?" Nami asked. At the mention of Zoro's name, the townspeople gave them odd looks.

"That's weird. What did Zoro-san do to earn the animosity of this town?" Nami asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with that Axe-hand guy." Luffy said.

The townspeople glanced at them again, this time the looks that the Strawhats were given were of pure fright.

"No way! He's a marine! They're the epitome of justice! He wouldn't use his power like that!" Coby yelled.

Sabo sighed, "And every pirate you've met were rotten, horrible, evil people, yes?"

Coby flushed. "That's not the point! The marines are supposed to be the good guys!"

"The marines represent the Government's view of 'justice'. That doesn't mean that they're the good guys." Naruto said.

" **Hmph. Humans are pitiful. Bloodshed repeats itself over and over again because of human weakness and arrogance."** Kurama said, his voice a growl.

Naruto scowled but said nothing.

"Zoro is this way! Come on, guys! Hurry!" Luffy yelled.

" **He reminds me of you, kit."** Kurama said.

" _Haven't we had this conversation before?"_ Naruto said telepathically.

" **I'm bored."**

Naruto sweatdropped and ran to catch up with Luffy.

* * *

There were two posts, each with a person tied to them. One of them had a green bandana tied around his head and tan skin, with earrings attached to his left ear. The other had lighter skin and darker hair, wearing a cloak with a half red, half white circle pattern on the back of it. These were Roronoa Zoro and Uchiha Sasuke respectively.

Naruto had felt Sasuke's aura, but hadn't said anything. Luffy and Sabo had no doubt sensed the extra aura that was close to Zoro's. Luffy would probably start teaching Nami, Zoro, and Sasuke haki once he got the time.

Right now though, the crew was approaching the two captives. They looked up, and Sasuke's eyes widened when he saw Naruto.

Sasuke smirked, "You sure took your time finding me, dobe."

Naruto grinned, "I was stuck in Goa until just recently, teme. It's good to see you, though why are you tied up? Did the great Uchiha manage to get himself caught by weaklings?"

Sasuke scowled, "Zoro and I made a bet with that spoiled brat."

"A-ano..."

Naruto and Luffy noticed a little girl behind them, holding two rice balls. They grinned and motioned for the girl to continue.

"I made these rice balls for you." she said.

Zoro scowled. "You shouldn't be here."

"But I-"

"Now what did the sign say about helping the criminals?"

The strawhats turned to see Helmeppo, who had several marine soldiers. Luffy and the two bound men glared at him.

"I-it says that..."

"Any who attempt it will be executed!" Helmeppo yelled. "Fortunately for you, I'm feeling nice today. Guards! Throw her out! But let me take this!" Helmeppo snatched away the rice balls, and took a bite out of one of them. "Nasty! They're sweet! What, did you use sugar or something!" He threw the rice balls on the ground and stomped on them. "Now throw the girl out!" he yelled, after he'd finished stomping the rice into the ground.

"But sir!"

"No buts, or my daddy will have you executed!"

Each word out of Helmeppo's mouth made Luffy and his brothers angrier and angrier.

Sabo stepped forward. "She's just a little girl. Surely you can be more gentle than that? You could kill her if you had her thrown like that."

"No one asked your opinion!" Helmeppo said, "Now throw her out!"

One of the marine soldiers grabbed the girl and threw her over the wall. Luffy leapt after her, and caught her before she hit the ground. After Helmeppo left, Luffy told her to wait for him. He went back to the rest of his crew, his eyes hidden by the shadow of his hat.

"Roronoa Zoro, if I get your swords, will you join my crew?" Luffy asked.

"No, but I'd do just about anything else." Zoro said.

"Guess you don't want your swords then." Luffy said.

"That's blackmail, you bastard!" Zoro yelled.

"I'll be back." Luffy said.

Zoro sighed. Why did he have the feeling he'd gone through all of this before?

* * *

Zoro's swords, well one in particular, gave off a rather unique aura. If Luffy didn't know any better, he'd have guessed that the Wado Ichimonji was sentient. That sword made it easy for Luffy to track down the rest of them. After he found them, he ran to the roof. Morgan was making his soldiers raise a gigantic statue of himself. Luffy decided that the statue wasn't necessary and destroyed it using Gomu Gomu no Axe. Axe-hand Morgan, infuriated, ordered the soldiers to kill Luffy, but he used his Conqueror's Haki to knock the soldiers all out at once.

"W-what kind of monster are you?" Morgan asked, his face pale.

"I'm the man who's going to become King of the Pirates!" Luffy yelled. He then jumped off the building and ran towards Zoro's aura.

* * *

"So you found them." Zoro said.

Luffy grinned,"Yep! Now you can join my crew!"

"Not a chance! Untie me, you bastard!"

"That straw-hat wearing kid is trying to free Roronoa Zoro! Stop him!"

"Oi, untie me! Hurry!" Zoro yelled.

Luffy grinned and used his haki to loosen the rope. Zoro grinned and took the swords from Luffy.

"Raiton: Oni Giri!" Zoro yelled. The attack was devastating. Every marine hit with it was burned by lightning. The energy from the attack left a small crater where the marines were standing.

' _Huh. Sasuke must have taught him how to use chakra.'_ Naruto thought.

"I've attacked the marines, so now I'm an enemy to the government. What do you want to do next, captain?" Zoro asked.

"Shishishi~We can go get our sharpshooter!" Luffy yelled, grinning.

 **A/N: What did you think of this? Good? Bad? Somewhere in the middle? Please review!**


	6. Can't Take the Heat

Chapter 6: Can't Take the Heat

A/N: Sorry about the short chapter! I'm really busy with college and I haven't had much time to write. I've got part of the next chapter for The Weight of Their Sins: Recharged written, though it might be awhile before I'm finished with it. In other news, I'm starting an animated web series! I've got a crew of people who are willing to help. I'll post the link to the trailer when it comes out.

 _Last Time:_

 _"I've attacked the marines, so now I'm an enemy to the government. What do you want to do next, captain?" Zoro asked._

 _"Shishishi~we can go and find our sharpshooter!"_

"We have to take care of that axe-guy first." Zoro said.

"You already did. He was among the marines you zapped." Sabo said, pointing. Sure enough, Axe Hand Morgan was lying in the dirt, his body covered in burns and twitching uncontrollably.

Zoro blinked. "Seriously? Well I'll be damned."

"D-don't go anywhere, or this kid gets it!"

Luffy whirled to face the owner of the voice, one cowering Helmeppo who was holding a gun to Coby's head.

" _Gomu Gomu no BAZOOKA!_ " Luffy yelled, hitting Helmeppo with the full force of his attack. Helmeppo screamed like a little girl as he was launched several miles backwards. A faint 'splash' was heard by those who had Observation Haki.

"Overkill much?" Naruto asked.

"He deserved it." Luffy said.

"We've got two new members, bringing our total to six." Naruto said.

"We're going to need a new boat at this rate, or we're going to sink!" Sabo said, grinning.

Nami sighed. "We need to go to Orange Town. I've heard rumors about a map to the Grand Line that a certain pirate that's based there possesses."

"You're talking about Buggy the Clown, right?" Sabo asked.

Nami nodded. "Rumours suggest that he might have a Devil Fruit, so I'd be careful when fighting him."

Luffy grinned."Just leave him to me!"

"He reminds me of you a bit, dobe." Sasuke said.

Naruto beamed. "Isn't it wonderful?"

"Hn."

"Aww, don't be like that!"

"Hn."

"I never said anything of the sort, teme!"

"Hn."

"Now you're just being rude!"

"Hn."

"You're just sore because I was next in line to become Hokage."

"Should we stop them?" Sabo whispered to Luffy.

Luffy grinned. "Nope! This is hilarious!"

Sabo groaned.

* * *

"Thank you for everything! As thanks, let us feed you! It's the least we can do for the heroes who saved Shells Town!"

This was a sentiment shared by many of the civilians. So Luffy and his crew plus Coby found themselves at a pub, gorging themselves on food. The party was cut short, however, when the marines decided to barge in.

"It has come to our attention that pirates have docked here at Shells Town." the one in front said.

There was a loud protest. One of the civilians stood up. "They're the ones who saved us! Please, don't do anything to them!"

"Don't worry. Nothing about the incident here has been reported to headquarters. But what do you think will happen to us if the government finds out we were harboring criminals?" The marine said.

The civilians fell quiet.

"Hey, are you guys taking recruits?" Luffy asked, "My friend here would like to join the marines. Of course, he was a member of-"

"SHUT UP! Don't tell them that!" Coby yelled.

"-Alvida's pirate crew. He was nothing more than a servant to them, though."

"Shut up! That's supposed to be secret! Now I won't be able to join!" Coby said.

"You helped with a raid on a cruise ship, too. I wonder if the marines will accept you."

"SHUT UP!" Coby ran forward and punched Luffy in the jaw.

"Enough! It is quite apparent that you two are enemies. Coby-kun, we will train you to be a marine."

Coby's eyes widened. "T-thank you! I promise to do my best!"

* * *

"That was some nice acting you did back there. Now Coby can join the marines." Zoro said.

Luffy looked down. "I don't like saying that sort of stuff to nakama. It makes me feel funny."

Naruto shook his head, "It was necessary. You know that as much as we do."

"Let's go find that map Nami mentioned earlier." Sabo said.

"Yeah! And any treasure we get is all mi..I mean ours!" Nami said, her eyes beri signs.

"You seem to like money a lot." Naruto said.

"I'm saving one hundred million beris to buy a certain village! I need all the money I can get!" Nami yelled.

"THANK YOU EVERYONE! I WON'T FORGET YOU!"

The Strawhats turned and saw Coby, who was saluting the small group of pirates.

Zoro grinned. "A marine saluting a pirate? How odd."

"All men, salute!"

The entirety of the town's marine soldiers were saluting the pirates. Luffy grinned at the sight, but said nothing.

"Now men, it is against the law to salute criminals like them! As punishment, everyone is to go without food for three days! The captain said

Yes sir!" The marines said.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"How about now?"

"No"

"What about now?"

"SHUT UP LUFFY!" Nami yelled

"When will we get there?" Luffy asked.

Nami growled. "IT WILL TAKE LONGER IF YOU KEEP THIS UP!"

"How do you grow teeth that sharp? Do you have chakra?" Naruto asked.

Nami froze for a second, then turned to Naruto, "IT'S NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!"

The other five winced and rubbed their ears. "Can you keep it down? I'm trying to sleep here." Zoro said, yawning.

"YOU'RE TAKING UP HALF THE BOAT YOU BASTARD!" Nami yelled.

"Hmm? Your point is?" Zoro said.

Nami groaned. "Never mind. Why did I agree to join you people anyways?"

"Because we're awesome?" Naruto said.

"We'll get lots of meat!" Luffy said.

"And sake." Zoro said.

Nami's right eye twitched.

"Hey! It's a bird! I'm going to..." Before Luffy could attempt to catch it, Sabo grabbed Luffy's arms.

"A bird that size would sink this boat." Sabo said.

Luffy pouted. "Fine. But that means I'll need meat first thing when we stop!"

"But what about Buggy?" Sabo asked.

"I'll kick his ass! Then we can have meat!"

* * *

"Are you sure the reports are accurate?"

"Very. I'm certain that those two were spotted on Syrup Island."

"We can't risk those letting them return to the Grand Line. Those two are powerful enough that an ordinary army would fall against them."

"What do you suggest, then?"

"The Buster Call should be more than enough to take care of them. Hyuga D. Hayashi and Inuzka D. Hana will not escape."


	7. AN Plus Preview of Original Work

**Author's Note: I've been really busy with college and life in general, so I haven't been able to write much. Don't expect updates regularly, though I will try to finish the stories on my account. I apologize for the lack of updates, and I promise that I** ** _will_** **write when I have the time! Thank you for your patience! NOTE: THIS IS A PREVIEW OF AN ORIGINAL WORK. THIS IS NOT IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM RELATED TO THE STORY,**

 _The Cursed and Lucky Stars appeared after the Great Emperor started his reign over a thousand years ago. It is said that He brought them, Cursing some and Blessing others. However, I am not so sure of that fact._

CHAPTER 1: BETRAYAL

"There are legends. Stories of a time before the Great Emperor. It is said that there weren't any born under the Stars. The animals were allowed to roam without a Herder to reign them in."

Leona smiled as she spun her tales of the past. Casa loved to hear the stories of the years before the Great Emperor.

"It is time to sleep, child. You need to rest, and it is getting late." Leona whispered.

Casa knew the streets quite well. They were dangerous, something she was aware of more than most. She was, after all, Cursed, a half noble-half commoner mix. She wasn't fit to serve in any of the different factions of the government.

Casa was barely a teenager. She had an older brother, Kaiser and her mother. She didn't know anything about her father. Whenever Casa brought him up, Leona would stiffen and change the subject.

Casa woke early the next morning, soft sunlight barely visible through the cloth canvas of the tent. Kaiser was gone, likely raiding some noble's house for food and money. She frowned. Her brother never took her on raids. He insisted that it was too dangerous. So Casa took up pickpocketing.

Leona was still asleep. Her breathing was somewhat relaxing to Casa.

"Casa?"

Casa turned. "Hi, Jay." she grinned.

Unlike Casa, Jay was an orphan, adopted by Leona about a month before Casa's thirteenth birthday.

"Do you have any plans for today, Casa? I've heard that Gadel is out shopping at the moment, not too far from here." Jay said.

Casa grinned, "One of the highest ranking nobles, coming down into the streets? That's just asking for trouble."

"Are you really going to...?"

Casa nodded. "Why shouldn't I? He's a noble, after all. He's one of the more unsavory ones. I've heard stories, you know."

"Stealing from a man like that is dangerous, though!" Jay protested.

"You shouldn't have told me about his little shopping trip if you didn't want me to pickpocket him." Casa smiled, lightly punching Jay in the arm.

"Honestly...the things you do could get you executed." Jay sighed.

"If I didn't do them, we would die of starvation." Casa said quietly.

"Kaiser's raids don't provide enough money for us?" Jay asked, amused.

Casa scowled, "He should take me with him! I can handle raiding noble homes!"

Jay shook his head. "Kaiser cares about you, Casa. He doesn't take you because he doesn't want to see anything happen to you."

"But still..." Casa began

"That's enough of that, Casa." Jay said.

"Let's go. Gadel isn't going to stay in our turf for long!" Casa grinned, abruptly changing the subject.

"I'm not coming." Jay said.

"Yes, you are!" Casa insisted.

"I don't want..." Jay was interrupted as Casa seized his wrist and dragged him off towards the shopping area, grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

"There he is!" Casa said, pointing at a man wearing a deep red suitcoat.

"You're really going to go through with this." Jay shook his head.

"You bet I am!"

Casa crouched and made her way through the crowd. Her footsteps became quiet and she was able to make her breath inaudible. She reached Gadel, carefully and quickly reached inside of his pant's pocket. She felt some paper brush against her skin. Casa smiled, pulling her hand out, in her fingers was a note for five hundred bordos. Enough for Casa and her family to survive for another month.

"How'd it go?" Jay asked when she got back.

Casa held up the money she'd retrieved.

Jay frowned. "He really carried that much on his person? In an area like this?"

Casa nodded. "Why? What's..." she stopped when she saw the look on Jay's face.

"Pakdor." he whispered.

Casa paled. "Where?" she asked.

Jay pointed. Sure enough, five cloaked men, each bearing the symbol of the Pakdor, were heading straight towards Casa and Jay.

Jay and Casa bolted through the crowd.

"You really shouldn't have stolen from him!" Jay yelled, panting.

The two turned down a random alleyway. They watched with baited breath, waiting to see...

The men with the Pakdor cloaks didn't bother to stop to look down the alleyway. Jay let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"You're lucky I was here." a new voice said from behind them.

Casa and Jay jumped, whipping around to face the newcomer.

"Who are you?"Casa asked.

The newcomer smiled, "A friend." he said, "You should go. My distraction won't hold them for long."

"Thank you, um..." Jay trailed off.

The man grinned, "My name is Liever! Now go!"

Casa and Jay bolted towards where Leona was waiting. However, when they got there, the tent was empty.

"Leona must be shopping." Jay sighed, sitting down on the floor.

"You're right. She'll be back." Casa said, attempting to reassure herself.

"There's a note!" Jay exclaimed, standing up and retrieving it from the center of the tent.

" _By order of the Pakdor, Leona Dawn has been arrested for spreading rumors that could potentially incite rebellion. Her execution will be at sunrise."_ Jay read, blood draining from his face.

"No..." Casa whispered.

"Her stories of times before the Great Emperor...the Pakdor would really execute someone for talking about those times?" Jay whispered.

"Yes. They would."

Casa and Jay turned to see Kaiser, his face grim.

"Do you know what this means? It means that we're in danger as well. The Pakdor have a habit of executing the families of criminals." Kaiser said.

"You think we don't know that?" Casa asked, tears forming in her eyes.

"Casa, please don't cry. You're going to make me cry too..." Jay trailed off.

Kaiser watched his two siblings in silence, his face stoic. "You need to get out of here." he said.

Jay nodded, then grabbed Casa by the wrist. He charged out the exit of the tent.

Only to find that they were completely surrounded by Pakdor.

"Very good, Kaiser. You have done well. Well enough, I think, to earn a position within the Pakdor." The one in the front said.

Kaiser emerged from the tent, his expression triumphant.

"This...has to be some sort of joke." Jay whispered.

"No. Not Kaiser. He wouldn't..." Casa gasped, her voice cracking.

"I'm not the brother you used to know, Casa. I am no longer Cursed." He grinned ferally.

"Why?" Jay said, "You're our brother, Kaiser! Why'd you betray us like this?"

Kaiser shook his head. "True I was your brother. However, I wasn't so fond of mom. The way she talked about the times before the Great Emperor, it disgusted me. He is our King! We don't talk about what was and what could have been!"

The Pakdor moved to arrest Jay and Casa. Casa grabbed Jay and bolted.

"It's no use. You can't run from the Pakdor."

Casa stopped, her eyes wide with shock. The man had just _flown_. He'd landed right in front of Casa.

"There's no hope for your escape. You Cursed don't have any power whatsoever." The Pakdor man stated matter-of-factly.

Casa's heart was beating rapidly. Jay's expression was terrified.

They were about to be killed.

Casa's heart began to beat faster, and she felt something rise within her chest. She didn't know what it was, but she instinctively called out to it, like she knew it would help her.

The Pakdor's eyes widened. "No. She can't...there's no way! Only certain nobles are granted that ability. A half-blooded freak can't have it!"  
Casa glanced down at her feet, or rather, where her feet were. She turned to look at Jay, who was nowhere to be seen.

"Where are you two? You can't have gone invisible! You can't have!" The Pakdor yelled.

Casa felt something else rise within her chest. She called on that, too. Suddenly, she could see Jay. The Pakdor, however, still couldn't see either of them.

The Pakdor cursed, running off, muttering something about reinforcements.

Casa felt someone grab her around the wrist. Before she could do anything, the man yanked her and Jay behind a nearby wall. The man was wearing a cloak, his hood up, so that his face was covered.

"Follow me." the man ordered. Something about his voice was familiar to Casa and Jay.

Casa and Jay didn't protest. The man led them to what looked like a run-down inn, the letters on the sign had faded enough that it was impossible to read. One of the windows was broken, and the others were clouded with dirt.

"Go inside. You're not invisible anymore, so they can see you." the man said quietly.

Casa and Jay didn't move. The reality of recent events were starting to sink in. Their mother was going to get executed. Their brother had betrayed them. Kaiser was gone...

" _I've got money to buy us food! You don't need to worry about starving this week!"_

" _Come on, Casa! I'll race you to the bridge!"_

" _Jay, protect Casa for me, would you?"_

" _I'm here for you, Casa. You can cry on my shoulder, it's alright."_

Casa put her head in her hands and wept, tears cascading down her cheeks, sprinkling the pavement with tiny droplets of liquid.

Jay put a hand on her shoulder, his expression mirroring that of Casa's. "Let's go inside." he offered gently.

Casa shook her head. "I don't trust him." she said.

Jay swallowed, "Come on, Casa. It's a better alternative than waiting out here to be caught and executed." he said, his voice thick..

Casa nodded, "Fine. But only because you're going to be there."

Jay turned away from Casa, not wanting her to see his tears.

"You two coming?" the hooded man asked softly.

"Yeah. We're ready." Jay swallowed.

The man threw the doors open. They were greeted with a crowd of about twenty or thirty people, all talking and laughing.

"Welcome to my crew, the Gale Force." The man smiled.

"Hey! Liever is back!" somebody yelled.

"Who're the kids?" someone else's voice rang out.

Liever held up his hand. The crowd instantly quieted.

' _This man has a lot of influence over these people.'_ Jay thought, impressed.

"These two are brother and sister, and their family was killed by the Pakdor not even an hour ago. Mack, would you mind showing them to the vacant room upstairs?"

Mack looked like he could be a giant. Jay could have used one of his muscles as a bed, and he wouldn't have to worry about falling off or even having enough room to toss and turn.

Jay and Casa followed Mack up the stairs. He lead them to the fifth door on the right, the last room before the hall ended.

Mack gestured for them to go inside, "You will sleep here, as Guild Leader has instructed." his voice was deep and slow.

It didn't take long for the two foster-siblings to fall asleep. They were both exhausted from the day's events. And Jay had a feeling that it would only get worse.


End file.
